HD DVD more than twice as popular than Blu-ray Disc at Netflix
One often overlooked statistic when comparing the two main
high-definition optical formats is rentals. While Blu-ray Disc movies have
consistently sold more units than HD DVD at retail, the popularity of the
formats appear to be reversed in the rental market.
According to Netflix data gathered by Compete’s online
traffic metrics, HD DVD is the preferred high-def format for customers of
the largest online rental firm in the U.S. Netflix users that deliberately set
a particular format as preferred chose HD DVD by a factor of 2.4:1 when
compared to Blu-ray Disc favorers.
Strangely, the Blu-ray Disc section had 1.8 times more
browsers of the selection than the HD DVD section. But of those consumers who
looked at high-def discs, browsers of HD DVD were 4.4 times more likely to set
it as their preferred format as compared to Blu-ray Disc. Furthermore, the HD
DVD format saw greater growth numbers than Blu-ray Disc over the June to August
period observed.
Before any conclusions are drawn about what this may mean in
the ongoing high-definition format war, both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc combined
are barely a blip on the home video radar. Of the 14 million monthly visitors
to Netflix, only 0.3 percent viewed either of the high-def formats.
The Netflix data runs contrary to the other major rental
powerhouse in the U.S. In June, Blockbuster chose to stock only Blu-ray
Disc movies for rental across 1,450 stores nationwide. At the time of the
announcement, Blockbuster said that its customers were choosing Blu-ray Disc
over HD DVD 70 percent of the time.
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